OPEN BANKING
Open to Change Anthony Habis Head of Middle East and Africa, BNY Mellon tells MEA Finance where their focus lies in implementing Open Banking. With much space for further innovation across platforms and functions and the regions’ vibrant innovation communities, they expect the trends of collaboration and open architecture to grow with artificial intelligence and machine learning playing an important role
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hat is BNY Mellon’s overarching philosophy around Open Banking?
We’re in a rapidly changing industry and markets landscape—from both a business and a technology perspective – where client needs, requirements and expectations change quickly. In response, we introduced an openarchitecture approach to our core operating model. Open architecture gave us the ability to collaborate and integrate with the relevant market players of choice: fintechs, traditional providers, and clients. We t ra n sfo r m e d t h e institutional space in 2019 by launching a series of industryfirst front-to-back alliances with Amundi ALTO, BlackRock Aladdin, Bloomberg AIM, and SimCorp Dimension. Open architecture is a collaborative,
integrated approach that enables us to 1) respond to clients evolving needs fast; 2) offer clients greater choice and flexibility through an ever-expanding suite of proprietary and third-party solutions; 3) and have access to innovation through BNY Mellon’s reliable, resilient and safe global infrastructure. Through this model, BNY Mellon is able to provide innovation and efficiency at scale for clients and other market participants. Our focus is on three main drivers of value: accelerating new product development, bolstering our own and our clients’ operational resiliency and efficiency, and enhancing the client experience. This open mindset has allowed us to participate in meaningful collaborations and strategic investments that ultimately help drive improvement across the industry.
Would you say that Open Banking is now the norm in the regional day-to-day banking experience? When we first went live with BNY Mellon OMNISM, our Open Architecture platform three years ago, we were virtually the only ones in the market pursuing this. Following the successes, we now see a sharp uptick, with more companies embracing the approach globally. As one of the world’s most dynamic and evolving markets, the Middle East is a prime jurisdiction for Open Banking to take hold. Open banking is evolving in the region and starting to gain traction, with the UAE and Saudi implementing enabling regulations in order to promote adoption. In 2020, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) commenced the UAE’s involvement in the open banking sector by granting licenses to specific entities.
Anthony Habis Head of Middle East and Africa, BNY Mellon
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